How to Write Nursing Resume Summary or Objective

Should you write a nursing resume objective or summary statement?

Are you a fresh graduate, career changer, or a nurse looking for a niche or specific role? Then you should choose an objective for a nursing resume. Resume objectives are for applicants who don’t have a lot of on-the-job experience.

Right

Dependable licensed RN trained to work in high-stress environments and stay calm under pressure. Seeking to leverage meticulous record-keeping and analytical skills to gain experience as a Nurse.

Wrong

Newly licensed RN looking for a challenging nursing role in a medical facility where I can put my skills to the test.

Applicants with experience in the industry should use a resume summary.

Right

Multi-lingual Pediatric RN with 15+ years of experience in the intensive and neonatal care units of a community hospital. Seeking to leverage management experience in the role of Pediatric RN at General Hospital.

Wrong

Pediatric RN with years of experience supervising the medication and health records of newborns.

Pro Tip: A resume summary is also a good place to put your hours of availability.

Our resume builder (you can create your resume here) will give you tips and examples on how to write your resume professional summary section. Or any section for that matter. You can copy the examples to your resume, customize, and save a lot of time.

Three Things to Add to a Nursing Resume Experience Section

Number of Beds:

The recruiter will want to know if you have experience working in a similar sized hospital or unit that matches the prospective job.

Susan Whitman

Sr. Vice President and CFO at Freedom Healthcare Staffing

Unit Type:

Have you ever worked in an Intensive Care Unit (ICU), an Emergency Room (ER), a Labor and Delivery Unit (L&D), or a Telemetry Unit (TELE)?

Be sure to include the unit type under each job in your experience section.

Also, include information about the admittance of trauma patients or overflow patients from other units. That way, recruiters know the type of patients you can handle.

Listing the type of unit you’ve worked in illustrates that you have a particular set of basic skills.

For example:

Nurses assigned to Telemetry Units work with patients that need constant monitoring. The critical nature of some patients suggests that the environment is fast-paced. TELE Nurses can handle several patients at once and deal with unexpected problems.

Compare that to:

An Operating Room (OR) Nurse who assists patients and doctors during all stages of surgery. Instead of handling several patients, an OR nurse handles one procedure at a time.

Facility Type:

Different facilities have different environments and daily tasks. Nurses also work with different equipment.

So, a nursing home nurse is not going to have the same experience as a nurse working in an urgent care facility. Urgent care facilities are fast-paced with patients coming and going. Nursing homes have permanent residents that require long-term care.

Both are demanding jobs. But the stamina, skills, and certifications are different.

Let’s say you work in a facility for the elderly. You still need to add the type of facility to differentiate your skills.

Let’s say you work in an assisted living facility. You don’t need to provide injury or illness-specific care for patients. But nurses who work in nursing homes do.

That’s why it’s important to mention the type of facilities you’ve worked for in the past.

Your Education Section - Your education section should come first. It’s okay to put it before your experience section when you’re a fresh graduate. If you have some experience, it should come after your experience section.

Your highest degree should come first on a nursing resume because it’s a permanent qualification. List your highest degree followed by lower degrees. If you have two equal degrees, list the most relevant one first.

Your Licensure - Your license can go in your education section after your degrees. You can also create a separate section titled “Licenses.”

State Designations - These are certifications that give nurses the authority to practice at more advanced levels in specific states. Examples include Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN), Nurse Practitioner (NP), and Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) certifications.

Your Certifications - Any certificates that you’ve received or extra training should go in this separate section.

Awards and Honors: Awards and honors can come from your time at school, from professional affiliations, from nursing organizations, or from previous jobs that you’ve held.

Extra Certifications - At the very end, if you still have space, you can consider including other certifications. These would include non-nursing certifications that are relevant to the job you’re targeting.

It’s a good idea to organize your resume according to industry standards. Recruiters are expecting resumes organized in a particular way. Conforming means they can find everything they want fast.

The Best Nursing Resume Tips for Adding License Information

When it comes to licensure, you’ve got two options.

The first is to list your licenses in your education section after you’ve listed your degrees. That works best if you have one or two licenses. Otherwise, you can create a separate section for your licenses.

Let’s say you decide to add your license to your education section.

You can consider titling the section “Education and Licensure” instead of “Education.” That way recruiters know you’ve included information about your licensure in your education section.

So, whether you’re making a registered nurse resume or a licensed practical nurse resume - location is the biggest issue.

Once you’ve figured that out, the hard part is over.

But how do you make a license entry on your nursing resume?

License Type: LPN, RN, Nurse Practitioner (NP), CRNA

Licensing State or Body: The state that issued you a license.

License Name: The name you used on the licenses.

License Number: You’ve already included this in your contact information, but it doesn’t hurt to add it again.

Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC): If your license falls under the NLC, you’ll want to indicate that it does so. Having a license that falls under the NLC allows you to practice in states included in the agreement. That’s especially important for nurses applying for out-of-state jobs.

License Expiration Date: The alternative is to put “Active Since” and add the month and year the license was activated.

Sample Nursing Resume License Entry:

Registered Nurse (RN): License number 2263731

New York State Board Licensing, Active since January 2012

Or:

Registered Nurse: 173162

Massachusetts Board of Registration in Nursing

Active until November 2017

For Compact License holders:

Registered Nurse: License Number 132779, Active since 2014

Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC), Maine State Board Licensing

Pro Tip: License numbers are in the public domain. Recruiters can look up your number online via the State’s Board of Nursing website.

Putting the number on your nursing resume saves recruiters time and energy.

Show recruiters right away that you have the required licensure. That way they’ll know quicker that you’re qualified for the job. Win, win.

9

Add State Designations to a Professional Nursing Resume

Let’s say you have a certification to practice at advanced levels in a particular state. It’s important to put the name of that state on your resume.

You can not just put that you are an Advanced Practical Nurse (APN). That’s because each state has different criteria for subspecialties in the nursing profession. Also, it may be illegal to use certain titles without permission from the state’s nursing board.

Put the name of the state after your license information to show a state designation. Let’s say your state designation matches your license. Then there’s no need to include the same information twice.

Let’s say that your Registered Nursing license falls under the Nursing Licensure Compact. Then it’s best to include the State Nursing Board that granted your designation.

Here’s How to List Certifications on a Resume for Nurses

Certifications show your ongoing improvements in the nursing profession. They also show that you have specialized skills.

Accredited and nationally recognized institutions issue certifications. Examples of such institutions include the American Board of Neuroscience Nursing (ABNN) and the Board of Certification for Emergency Nursing (BCEN).

RNs are not required by law to get certifications to work in specific medical units.

For example, you don’t need a Medical Surgical Nursing Certification (CMSRN) to work in operating rooms in many states.

But many hospitals are willing to pay extra. Some at least focus on candidates who have this certification.

Include the following information when listing certifications on your resume:

Name of the Certification and the Acronym: For example, Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS), Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR), and Certified Occupational Health Nurse (COHN).

It’s always best to write out acronyms. You should never assume the reader knows all industry jargon. At the same time, acronyms are important for Applicant Tracking System (ATS) software. Be sure to include acronyms that you find in the job description.

The Certifying Organization

The Certificate’s Expiration Date: You can put the date that you acquired the certificate if there is it does not expire.

The Certification Number (where appropriate)

Sample nursing resume certification entries:

Basic Life Support (BLS) from the American Heart Association, Current - 2018

Don’t Forget to Add Your Professional Associations

The chances are that you belong to a professional nursing association of some sort. That’s because there are thousands of affiliations for nurses.

Some of them are academic affiliations. Others are national organizations or groups for specific kinds of specialists.

Regardless, recruiters will want to know if your affiliation with any professional associations. Especially if you’ve received awards or held important positions within the organizations.

Some examples include:

Sigma Theta Tau International, Honor Society of Nursing (Academic)

American Association of Critical Care Nurses (Specialist)

Michigan Nurses Association (State-specific)

If you decide to add associations to your professional nursing resume, include the following information:

The name of the organization.

The date the organization admitted you.

Any offices that you’ve held.

A description of your role within the group.

Pro Tip: There are different ways to order such information on your resume. You don’t need to list the group you joined most recently first.

It’s best if you order them according to prestige - personal and perceived. Put associations at the top if you held an office or had an important role. You can also lead with affiliations that have prestigious reputations in the industry.

Key Takeaway

Writing a short, customized nursing resume might be a challenge. But it’s possible if you do your research and use the right strategies.

To write a nursing resume:

Only use a resume objective if you’re a fresh graduate or are changing specializations.

Include your license type and the number beside your name and contact information.

Include the number of beds, the facility type, and the unit type for each job you held.

List your qualifications in the correct order: education, license, state designations, certifications, and awards and honors.

Prioritize the skills mentioned in the job description.

Proofread your resume and write a personalized cover letter.

Do you have any questions on how to make a nursing resume? Let us know in the comments!

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Author

Charley Mendoza

Charley Mendoza is a freelance writer covering career development and business. She's an expert in resume writing, interviewing, and negotiating, a topic she covers in publications such as Tutsplus, Business Insider, Brazen Careerist and more.